4wd: Outback Highways and Tracks

Outback Highways – Sealed

Gulf Experimental Road (Qld)

This road forms the first section of The Savannah Way when travelling from Queensland. It can be accessed from the coast of Far North Queensland from Cairns via Atherton Tablelands and Kennedy Highway, or from Townsville via Charters Towers on the Gregory Development Road. The drive west along the Gulf Developmental Road passes through treeless plains of Mitchell grass to Georgetown (gemstone fossicking), Gilbert River, Croydon (old gold mining town) and on to Normanton and Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The unsealed Kennedy Development Road from Hughenden links to the Overlander’s Way and the fascinating Dinosaur history of central Queensland. Porcupine Gorge is a renowned walking track.

Matilda Highway (Qld)

This is a great 2WD bitumen North-South route through central Queensland passing several places of historical significance and some great outback pubs.

This bitumen route is also the shortcut from Victoria, through the heart of western NSW, up to Central Qld where it meets the Matilda Highway at Cunnamulla.
Banjo Drive on the Alpine Way at Kasees in winter.

This trek traverses through state forest, Victoria’s Alpine NP, Kosciusko NP in NSW and then follows the Great Dividing Range to Cooma. Many sections are narrow, twisting, steep and very slippery after rain.

The West Macdonnell Ranges in the heart of Australia’s red centre stretch for 400km from east-west as a series of parallel ranges. Within the ranges are magnificent gaps and gorges, dramatic scenery, great bush camping and walks.

The Savannah Way is one of Australia’s ultimate adventure drives with large sections suitable for both 2 and 4 wheel drive vehicles. Stretching across far northern Australia through the Gulf Savannah of Queensland, the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Savannah Way is a combination of sealed and unsealed major outback roads and covers the 3700km from Cairns via Borroloola and Katherine to Broome in the west.

Darling River Run (NSW)

The Darling River is one of the outback’s most famous rivers. Starting near Bourke in central NSW and draining into the Murray in Victoria the Darling River Run snakes itself through black soil farming country.

World renown Kakadu has plenty to offer the international and local tourist. The diversity and many attractions including amazing rock formations, rare wildlife, Aboriginal art and fascinating escarpments are all part of Kakadu National Park.

The Gunbarrel Highway was built by Len Beadell (1923-1995), a Surveyor with the Australian Army, and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party. It runs trough central Australia from WA to the Northern Territory and is so named because Len favoured the rectilinear propagation of roads and vehicles. The Highway links Carnegie Station in central Western Australia with the Meteorological Station at Giles just west of the Northern Territory border. The original highway then extends south east to Mabel Park Station in South Australia. It was completed in 1958 after three years. The roads were cut by a small team of men to provide a way of retrieving rocket parts from the Woomera Rocket range. The team worked alone and a full account of their trials and tribulations is written in the book “Too Long in the Bush” by Len Beadell.

The Outback Highway is a series of roads and dirt tracks linking Winton, Queensland and Laverton, Western Australia. At 2,800 km, it traverses the inhospitable arid heart of Australia, the great outback. It passes through Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is being developed to provide an inland route between southern Western Australia and northern Queensland as an alternative to the National Highway 1 along either coast.

Canning Stock Route (WA)

The Canning Stock Route was surveyed for the purpose of droving cattle from the Kimberley region of Western Australia south to the goldfields. Wells were constructed one day’s travel apart for a mob of cattle. The wells were timbered and provided with A-frames to lift water to troughs. They have fallen into disrepair although some may have been restored.
The route is one of the classic four wheel drive adventures – and one that must not to be taken lightly. Navigation is hard, there are sand dunes and other difficult terrain, and it is very, very remote. The entire “track” is too long for most vehicles to carry all of their own fuel so it is common practice to arrange for a fuel drop to be from Newman.

The Anne Beadell Highway itself stretches for 1025km and is the major track from Coober Pedy in South Australia to Laverton in Western Australia. The name ‘highway’ is a little misleading as the trip traverses little used tracks that are often very narrow, twisty and sandy. The road was constructed by Len Beadell (1923-1995) and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party over a period of about nine years commencing in 1953, Len named this track after his wife, Anne (right). Several of the roads and tracks that his team built were named after family members. The Anne Beadell Highway is considered to be the four wheel drivers alternative to the Nullarbor Plain. It is the most direct route, east to west, or visa versa, across the Great Victoria Desert.

The Oodnadatta Track runs through the northern parts of South Australia – remote desert country and up into the Northern Territory. Without rain the main route can be undertaken in a conventional vehicle although you may wish to explore some of the historical points of interest in the surrounding areas, in which case you will definitely need a four wheel drive vehicle. The track once formed the main route into Central Australia and the Northern Territory. Its popularity as a main access route has diminished but it has gained tremendous popularity with many as one of Australia’s easier 4wd trips.

The Tanami Track is essentially a great short-cut linking the Red Centre to the Kimberley of Western Australia (The alternative route is to take the Stuart Highway up to Dunmarra then strike north-west along the Buchanan and Duncan Highways). Although once a notorious 4WD track, it is now a graded dirt highway. Although the track traverses one of Australia’s great deserts – The Tanami Desert – it is in fact a relatively easy route for travellers with 4WD and a comparatively safe introduction to remote, arid area travel.

Established during the 1880s, the Birdsville Track was the main stock route between Marree in South Australia and Birdsville in Queensland. Usually taking about a month to complete, the route was long and extremely harsh and cattle often didn’t survive the trip. Camel trains fared better. Until the 1930s these animals were used as the major transporters into a largely inaccessible region, but were released into the wild when road transport took over. Nowadays, the track is passable to conventional vehicles for most of the year.

The is the most direct route from central Queensland across to Alice Springs in central Australia. It is a wide stretch of very red sandy soil that when wet can be impassible and is therefore a 4WD track only. The Plenty Highway really doesn’t begin until you reach the NT border, but to get there you travel from Boulia in outback Queensland along the Donohue Highway (just a track).

The Connie Sue Highway is another bush “highway” constructed by Len Beadell and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party in 1962. It was named after Beadell’s daughter, Connie Sue. She began her desert life when she was only 5 months old; along with her mother Anne, accompanying Len on a 5-month expedition to perform reconnaissance for the Connie Sue and Anne Beadell Highways in the Great Victoria Desert. These days, she conducts outback tours along the routes pioneered by her father.
The highway named in her honour runs from Rawlinna on the Trans Australia Railway north for 650 km to Warburton on the Great Central Road. The southern 350 km section stretches from the Nullarbor plain through to Neale Junction in the Great Victoria Desert. It provides an almost straight line shortcut to Warburton providing quick access to the myriad of wonderful desert tracks in the area.

North of Broken Hill the bitumen gives way to dirt. Here you’ll find Mootwingee NP, the opal-mining town of White Cliffs, one-pub towns like Milparinka, Tibooburra and finally Cameron Corner where the 3 states of NSW, SA & Qld meet.

Finke Gorge is located within the Finke Gorge NP south of the West Macdonnell Ranges in the Alice Springs region. The most popular attraction is Boggy Hole, a permanent billabong of the Finke River. This is a good 4WD route to Uluru and/or Kings Canyon.

This trek heads inland through the Atherton Tablelands toward Chillagoe along the bulldust track called the Burke Developmental Road in the lower region of the Cape York Peninsula. Passing Staaten River NP, Mitchell and Alice NP and Dorunda on-route to the Gulf.

This track follows the Gulf of Carpentaria from Karumba – Borroloola in one of Australia’s most harshest outback areas. At first it appears a dry and barren place but if you take a few side diversions you’ll find gorges of paradise and rivers of barramundi.

Beginning in the open plains around Winton and ending in the Mars like gibber plains around Innamincka, this trek will take you to some of the most remarkable country in Qld’s outback before crossing into the famous Cooper Creek region at Innamincka.

This rarely used route is a great alternative to crossing the Eyre Highway from Fowlers Bay through to Port Augusta. Passing through the ranges and saltbush country there is the option to head further north to Kingoonya & onto Coober Pedy.

The Arkaroola-Mt Painter Wilderness Sanctuary provides some of the most exciting off-road tracks in SA. The Echo Camp Track and backtracks wind their way through the impossibly steep mountains and deep gorges and will keep the 4WD enthusiast happy.

This track does a 39km loop and takes in Warraweena Private Conservation Park, Maynard’s Well Station and Angepena Station. The track follows the route of the Old Coach Road and in and along creek beds where magnificent River Red Gums flourish.

The Bore Track is an access road for oil company vehicles and for property owners. This track is a great alternative to the wide gravel road of the Strzelecki Track which is more a highway than a track.

The Rig Road is the most southern access across the Simpson Desert. It is a longer route because it winds along the edge of dunes and crosses at the lowest points. Old clay-topped track is now eroding, but was once used for moving heavy equipment.

The Stzrelecki Track is strictly the route form Lyndhurst to Innamincka, however the trek notes are for travellers coming up out of the Flinders Ranges wishing to pick up the Stzrelecki in the last 264km near Mt. Hopeless.

This is a great trek through the Victorian High Country where you’ll experience some of our most spectacular mountain areas. See high country huts, spectacular views and participate in challenging four-wheel driving.

This track follows a section of the state border between Victoria and South Australia. A mostly sandy track with dunes provides you with a remote location for testing self and equipment without travelling deeper into the outback.

The major attraction of the northern Kimberley region is the majestic Mitchell Falls. Access by 4WD is challenging on both vehicle and occupants as this is a remote area. No food, fuel or mechanical services are available at Mitchell Falls itself.

Kalumburu is a unique aboriginal settlement in the far northern Kimberley. With an entry permit, the Kalumburu community welcome visitors and invite you to visit their beaches and enjoy bountiful reef and river fishing.

The Lakewood woodline area is located south of Boulder and east of Norseman and has hundreds of kilometres of bush tracks. You will see the remains of old railway formations, lines of rotting sleepers and evidence of woodcutter’s camps.

This trek cuts straight down the middle from Paraburdoo to Murchison. It is a great scenic alternative from the North West Coastal Highway and the Great Northern Highway although it will take a while longer to drive.

A 500km track from Broome Hill to Coolgardie that was built in the gold rush as a shortcut to the Goldfields. Hardly ever visited for nearly 100 years it was re-cut as a 4WD track in 1992 and is a popular trip with locals.

The David Carnegie Road is a little travelled track between the Great Central Road and the Gunbarrel Hwy. It is a spectacular piece of country with rocky outcrops, spinifex plains and breakaways and in parts challenging 4WDing with deep ruts and washaways.

This trek covers the western section of the Great Victoria Desert and is definitely 4WD country. If you take this route you will follow in the footsteps of explorers Frank Hann, The Elder Expedition and Len Beadell.